'Cheeky protest' as PR stunt bares truth about excessive packaging

Dan McDonald

Monday

Aug 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMAug 25, 2008 at 5:52 PM

Workers for LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, located on the first floor of the mall, will wear nothing but sandals and aprons that read "ASK ME WHY I'M NAKED'' to protest the environmental hazards of excessive packaging that comes with many store-bought commodities.

Workers for LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, located on the first floor of the mall, will wear nothing but sandals and aprons that read "ASK ME WHY I'M NAKED'' to protest the environmental hazards of excessive packaging that comes with many store-bought commodities.

With loose fruit individually shrink-wrapped in supermarkets and plastic bottles used for shampoos, the U.S. consumes 79.6 million tons of packaging each year. More than half ends up in landfills, said Allie Leung, spokeswoman for the company. She said such packaging creates 2 percent of overall greenhouse gases.

"In order to combat climate change and to protect Earth's scarce natural resources, shoppers need to take action by avoiding packaged goods,'' reads a press release from the company, which opened its first shop in Poole, England, in 1995 and now has more than 500 locations worldwide.

However, LUSH's aim is not all altruism.

As part of the nude promotion, LUSH is encouraging local consumers to "go naked'' by buying package-free commodities such as the company's shampoo bar. One bar, said Leung, lasts as long as three plastic bottles of shampoo.

"You're basically preventing three bottles from entering landfills as waste,'' said Leung.

LUSH also offers solid conditioner bars and massage bars. For the products that have to be packaged, the company uses "post-waste products'' for the packaging, said Leung.

LUSH performed similar stunts last year in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Germany. Tuesday, 25 stores in America will take part in the naked festivities.

"We're going to do it, and we're going to have fun,'' said Ross Higgins, Natick store manager.

Higgins will be one of the workers passing out pamphlets that highlight the problems posed by extraneous packaging.

Under the state's open and grows lewdness law, the exposure of the buttocks can be a felony statute. Much hinges on whether the bottom- bearing produces alarm, according to Natick Police Lt. Brian Grassey.

"It would have to depend on their conduct,'' said Grassey.

Similar PR exhibition have gone off without problems, said company spokesman Sean Gifford.

"Overall it's a very light-hearted event to get people to talk about environmental destruction,'' said Gifford. "It's a global campaign and we haven't had any problems. In Holland, I believe, police asked the employees to cover up, which they did.''